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Cultural revolutions, wilting flowers
Feb. 16 | By Choo Zheng Xi (Editor-At-Large) and KJ We wonder if Rear-Admiral Lui Tuck Yew knows that our city was the subject of a Hollywood film. No, not Ivan Heng’s cameo in Luc Besson’s Fifth Element, but a full Hollywood film shot on scene in Singapore. In...
Unraveling his story
Jan. 9 | KJ Dedicated to Khairulanwar Zaini The Fajar Generation has spoken, so has one intrepid historian. There is a growing realization that simply regurgitating our dominant history is inadequate, if not misleading. The dominant history dominated everything...
Economy recovering, but labour statistics getting worse?
Dec. 15 | Leong Sze Hian According to the Ministry of Manpower’s Labour Market Third Quarter 2009 Report, released on 15 December, Singapore’s real GDP grew by 0.6% over the year in Q3 09, after three consecutive quarters of contraction. However, long-term...
Press Muse – The good, bad and ugly (part one)
Dec. 14 | Spiegel Throwing spitballs at others can be very satisfying. Your target is remote, both physically and emotionally. The blow-back effect from your attack barely registers. Not with me anyway. To this end, I tend to unapologetically target the Straits...
Transport subsidies for the disabled – passing the buck?
Dec. 9 | Exclusive coverage: Starting from today (9 Dec), The Online Citizen will have exclusive coverage the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) which is being held in Copenhagen, Denmark. The reports are by members of ECO Singapore, writing exclusively...
“Cheaper, better, faster” may just break the camel’s back
Dec. 1 | Latest: The High Court has granted Yong Vui Kong’s application for a stay of his execution. Yong was scheduled to be hanged this Friday, 4 Dec. His appeal to the Court of Appeal will now be heard next Tuesday. TOC will have a report on today’s...
HDB Annual Report : Deficit has doubled – really?
Nov. 3 | Leong Sze Hian >> TOC Columnists ACCORDING TO the Housing Development Board’s annual report, the deficit for FY2008/2009 has almost doubled to $2.12 billion from $1.08 billion in FY2007/2008 – due mainly to an increase in Expenditure from...
We, the citizens of no country
Nov. 2 | KJ >> TOC Columnists Remember when you were a child, you earnestly believed in the tales that adults told? The monsters under your bed that would awaken if you didn’t sleep by nine. The ghastly diseases that would beset you if you didn’t eat...
What has Gini got to do with Medifund?
Nov. 2 | Leong Sze Hian >> TOC Columnists I refer to the article “Countries with the Biggest Gaps Between Rich and Poor” (BusinessWeek, Oct 23). Singapore’s Gini score of 42.5 is ranked number 2, with the Share of income or expenditure of the...
Fascism that works
Oct. 23 | KJ He was a leader who held a nation in his thrall. From the excesses of empire and occupation, he arose with a voice so clear it could not but give his people hope, give his people dreams. He arose and gave them such ravishings of riches never before...
Electricity: Why does Singapore’s tariff raising ranked 2nd amongst 21 cities?
Oct. 1 | Leong Sze Hian (Top: Singapore ranks 2nd, Credit: CLP Power) I refer to the report “Electricity tariffs for households to go up by 12.5% in Q4″ (CNA, Sep 29). According to Hong Kong electricity producer CLP Power, which supplies about 80...
New citizens outstripping net increase of existing citizens?
Oct. 1 | Leong Sze Hian I refer to the article “Singapore population of 4.99m is older, more likely living alone” (CNA, Sep 28). Page 11 of the recently released 72-page Population Trends 2009 – narrative on “Population Size and Growth”...
Parents suing their children?
Sep. 29 | Leong Sze Hian I refer to the media report “172 file for parent maintenance in last 12 months” (CNA, Aug 19) about the increase in applications to the Tribunal for the Maintenance of Parents (TMP) by more than 70 per cent to 172 in the previous 12...
On tolerance, sedition and forgiveness
Sep. 23 | Alfian Sa’at To many Muslims, Hari Raya Aidilfitri, a day of celebration after a month of fasting, represents a moment of renewal. When I was a child, I had always assumed that it falls on the first day of the Muslim New Year, when in fact it is the...
Annual fees too high in Special Needs Trust Fund
Sep. 20 | This letter was first published at TODAYonline Leong Sze Hian Starting September 2009, parents of intellectually disabled children can set up a trust for their children, with the newly formed Special Needs Trust Company. The projected return on trust...
National Day congratulatory messages
Sep. 19 | Greetings: TOC wishes all our Muslim readers Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri! Leong Sze Hian Every year in August, in the weeks following National Day, there is an extraordinary spate of self-congratulatory advertisements in the national newspapers...
Requiem for a dream
Sep. 19 | KJ PM Lee Hsien Loong’s call on young Singaporeans to ‘dare to dream’ is revealing in itself. Against the reality of Singapore, it sounds almost like a taunt: perchance to dream, but only if you dare. I was a schoolteacher for a time. The hours...
Is Hokkien My ‘Mother Tongue’?
Sep. 8 | Alfian Sa’at A long time ago, a Chinese man saw some Malays eating a fruit. It had a spiky shell, but its insides were filled with large seeds covered by yellow, buttery flesh. He had never seen (nor smelt!) a fruit like it before, in his native...
Why the need to be “proud” of being a Malay Singaporean?
Sep. 5 | Alfian Sa’at On 3rd September 2009, both the Straits Times and the Malaysian Insider carried the article ‘Proud To Be Malay Singaporean’. Written by Khartini Khalid, the article addresses among many things a statement made by former Malaysian Information...
Should Article 152 be scrapped from the Singapore Constitution?
Sep. 3 | Alfian Sa’at The event was a screening of Singapore short films. During the Question & Answer session at the end, a member of the audience, a Korean man, offered an observation: “Despite the fact that Singapore is a multiracial country, why...
Cost of building HDB flats – finally an answer?
Sep. 2 | Leong Sze Hian I refer to the replies by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) to the various letters in the Straits Times forum page over the past few weeks. (See below) I also refer to media reports (“SGX mainboard-listed BBR secures S$104.2m HDB...
Once upon a time in Singapore
Aug. 24 | KJ Fulfilling the ideals of the Pledge that we hold so dearly is also a brazen act of high treason. No wonder then, we dare not pledge ourselves too seriously. There was a time not too long ago, when we clenched our fists upon our hearts, and pledged...
We have built a house but not a home, says Reform Party
Aug. 16 | The following is the transcript of the National Day Rally Speech of The Reform Party. It was delivered by its party’s secretary general, Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam, at Speakers’ Corner on the 10 of August. Vote for the best National Day message 2009 at...
Unemployment – important statistics missing from media reports
Aug. 2 | Leong Sze Hian The unemployment rate is of concern to many Singaporeans. Thus, it is important not only for the government to release accurate data on it but also for our news media to report such data accurately. However, in their latest reports, the...
Why Yasmin Ahmad was so important to me
Jul. 31 | Yasmin Ahmad is the late Malaysian film director. She died of a brain haemorrhage on July 25 after collapsing with a stroke. She was 51. Alfian Sa’at Yasmin Ahmad had many Singaporean fans. During one of our meetings, she confided how she had found...
Temasek – Murky figures and unanswered questions
Jul. 29 | Latest: “We look at this speculation sometimes with irritation and sometimes with amusement because all of it is very far away from the truth, including those sources who claimed to be familiar with the situation.” – Temasek CEO Ho...
CPF Life – How can fund become insolvent and thus stop payouts?
Jul. 29 | The following is a letter to the Today newspaper by Mr Leong Sze Hian. I refer to “MPs: Is it really secure?” (July 21). Since Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong has given his assurance in Parliament that the monthly payouts will be paid for...
More graduates = higher HDB prices?
Jul. 27 | Leong Sze Hian What has record HDB prices got to do with falling private property prices and the number of students graduating from tertiary institutions? According to the article, “HDB prices hit record high” (Today, Jul 24), prices of HDB...
Safe, safe, city, or, O Mr Kishore Mahbubani!
Jul. 16 | KJ Singapore is a safe city, we like to say. Say it often enough, loudly enough, and strangely, it becomes actual enough, safe in our factual fantasy. Singapore is a safe city, because there is ‘an absence of desperate poverty’, says Kishore Mahbubani.[1]...
Banned from selling what nobody wants to buy?
Jul. 11 | Leong Sze Hian I refer to the article “Their shortfalls…” (Today, Jul 8). Since offers and rejections were made as early as at the end of last year, I would like to ask to what extent the findings of improper conduct for each of the 10 financial...
More and more jobs available, but nobody wants?
Jul. 7 | Leong Sze Hian, with contribution by Ng E Jay I refer to the report “Over 19,000 job seekers find work through SPUR programme” (CNA, Jul 3). Since the number of residents approaching CDCs for help in finding jobs has increased by 100 per...
Low-wage workers better off, now everybody worse off?
Jun. 18 | Leong Sze Hian / Columnist With the Labour market still weak, it is time to question the effectiveness of th Jobs Credit Scheme. WHILE the Ministry of Manpower may claim that low wage workers are better off, it seems like the economy is still in the doldrums...
Create “Economic Recovery” jobs
Jun. 17 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist Just pumping funds into the economy will not do. It is also important to curb unemployment, and Singapore can do this by creating new “Economic Recovery” jobs. Being an open economy, Singapore has been badly affected...
Is Animal Farm relevant to Singapore?
Jun. 10 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist Are we seeing a modern Animal Farm happening in Singapore, where corruption and propaganda are used to control the populace? ANIMAL Farm is a novel written by George Orwell in 1945. I studied this book for Literature when I was...
The Emperor’s new clothes
May. 28 | KJ In a letter that appeared in the Straits Times forum online (“Whatever the issue, let’s learn to argue well”, 27 May 09), Ms Lisa Li, a GP teacher, made the case for arguing well. She says: “… given that Singapore will always have a diversity...
Time for the government to re-look “no-welfare state” policy
May. 25 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist For many decades, the Singapore Government has adopted a policy of a “no welfare state”. They have extolled on the population the risk of a welfare mentality – people get lazy and expect a good life without putting in the...
Job satisfaction – inadequate measures to protect workers
May. 7 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist A Business Times report carried a survey made by a private research firm. It showed the job satisfaction rate of Singapore workers to be the second lowest in the world (the worst is Japan). Although the survey is made among workers...
Singaporeans need to overcome negative traits
Apr. 29 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist I received an e-mail from a young person aged 27. I extract a few paragraphs from his e-mail below: Hi Mr Tan, …. It pains me to see how incompetent the current government is. It’s no joke: whenever you seek help or answers,...
Protecting consumers
Apr. 22 | Tan Kin Lian Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Australia follow a similar legal system. Laws are passed to balance the rights of consumers and businesses. The aim is to provide an environment that businesses can innovate...
For much is at stake
Apr. 20 | KJ The government’s feeble justifications for passing the Public Order Act (POA) have been roundly and rightly denounced by the Opposition parties and netizens, and I shan’t repeat their indictments here. It is important that you read their responses...
Will S’poreans speak up for others?
Apr. 15 | Tan Kin Lian I received two e-mails from a visitor to my blog, www.tankinlian.blogspot.com. First e-mail Hi Mr Tan I have been following with interest your blog on and off especially during the period of “minibonds”. I respect your sense...
Disadvantageous Mandarin
Mar. 19 | A response to MM Lee KJ There is a lot to be said for Singaporean-Chinese, myself included, to be ascribed a ‘mother tongue’ that is not really my mother’s (or for that matter, my father’s), one that we have to learn from scratch, in effect as...
Totally Defensive – Totally Defenseless
Feb. 24 | In the previous article “Total Defense – (Total Control)”, KJ posited that Singapore’s doctrine of Total Defense is as much about the defense of Singapore, as it is about state indoctrination for social control. This article continues where it...
Respect other people’s views – Tan Kin Lian
Feb. 20 | Tan Kin Lian Minister for Health Khaw Boon Wan suggested that some people can consider sending their elderly parents to a nursing home in Johor Bahru, where the cost is less than half of the cost in Singapore. This created a big uproar. It attracted more...
Educate the public through New Media, says Tan Kin Lian at opposition forum
Feb. 7 | About 100 people, young and old, attended the Singapore Democratic Party organized forum “Opposition – Where to?”. This is a dangerous world because people are not doing anything about the evils in this world. With that in mind, Mr...
What some Singaporeans think about Democracy
Feb. 3 | By Tan Kin Lian / Columnist A RETIRED school teacher, Mr. Ho Cheow Seng, sent me his views about democracy. I posted the article in my website (viewable here) and invited my visitors to participate in a survey. 50 people responded. The age distribution...
Life in Singapore
Jan. 22 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist How do Singaporeans feel about life in Singapore. I carried out a survey in my blog. 115 people replied. A breakdown by age and annual income is: Below 30 20% 31 to 50 52% Above 50 28% Below $50k 51% Above...
Keeping seniors at work
Jan. 9 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke at the Reinventing Retirement Asia Conference organised by the Council of The Third Age. He urged “no let up in keeping seniors at work”. He said that outmoded social attitudes and systems...
Helping Singaporeans cope with the recession
Dec. 26 | Tan Kin Lian / Columnist Introduction Singapore’s economy is in recession. It will get worse and may take one or two years to recover. Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has advised people to continue spending, to keep the economy growing and avoid the...
